Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1989, published 76th ILC session (1989)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Costa Rica (Ratification: 1960)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention (protection against acts of discrimination and interference). For several years in its comments the Committee has been requesting the Government to adopt specific provisions that expressly establish means of recourse and penalties against acts of anti-union discrimination and interference by employers in workers' organisations.

In a previous observation, the Committee regretted that the 1981 draft Labour Code, which had been prepared with ILO assistance, had not been adopted, since it contained provisions respecting non-discrimination and non-interference which were in conformity with the Convention.

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report to the effect that the new draft of the overall reform of the Labour Code retains the sections respecting non-discrimination and non-interference that were contained in the 1981 draft Labour Code prepared with ILO assistance. It hopes that these provisions will be adopted in the near future.

Articles 4 and 6 (the right to bargain collectively of public servants who are not engaged in the administration of the State). The Committee notes the information contained in the Government's report to the effect that a negotiating committee has been set up and is composed of the principal central trade union organisations, the Government of the Republic, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy, the Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Finance and the President's Office and that this committee has prepared draft legislation respecting collective bargaining in the de-centralised public sector which it hopes will be submitted to the Legislative Assembly before the end of the year and become law in the Republic.

The Committee can only once again express the hope that the draft legislation relating to these points of the observation, which would bring the legislation into full conformity with the Convention, will be adopted in the near future and it requests the Government to indicate any progress achieved in this respect in its next report.